Okay, we all know that great power pop involves handclaps (and harmonies) at the right moments in a song. Follow Kevin Hillard from Small Sins and the life of a professional pop handclapper. This is truly hilarious. I reviewed Small Sins a while ago so this video was a nice distraction.
Category: Power Pop Review
2nd Day Crush "From the Nights You Lost Your Voice"
When when singer/songwriter Chris Drizen and met bassist Rick Barrio Dill at a Hollywood Hills party they decided to start a band. Then auditions for a guitarist brought them Rami Jrade and his friend drummer George Lind, and 2nd Day Crush was born. Two years later, we get “From the Nights You Lost Your Voice.” This debut album is a polished slice of indie rock, starting with the opening track “The Victim” — a mix of buzzing guitars and beat heavy rhythms. Similar in sound to Semisonic meets Coldplay with a bit of Green Day guitars thrown in. The next tune, “Put Down Your Guns” is a fast paced infectious melody with an easy to digest chorus and the right amount of modern influences. Other songs have bouncy pop to offset the guitar toughness, like in the great “Something Now” and Drizen’s vocals seems to channel both The Rembrandts and Neil Peart in the song “Better Than This.” My favorite here is “I Want To Be There Again” which is one of the better modern pop singles I have heard this year. Stylistically, the band moves around as some songs will remind me of Australia’s Taxiride, (“Walk Away” and “Watch The World”) full of confidence and energy. Every song here sparkles with quality and professionalism, so there are no throw away tracks here either. A drawback for me is the lack of any type of ballad, as the album is on “full speed” through all 12 tracks. However, this is glossy power pop with modern 21st century sensibility — a true bid for pop radio success.
2nd Day Crush web site | My Space | CD Baby
Listen to “Watch the World”
Listen to the new Sloan album FREE
Link to the enitre album streaming for Sloan’s Latest “Parallel Play” — It sounds pretty good on first listen. I’ll give a review soon, but you know it’s gonna be worth the listen. From the YepRoc Records label.
There is a lot of good music currently out, and I’ll get to some major label releases as well as indie power pop over the next few weeks. Like I always say — too much music, too little time.
Kingsizemaybe "King Size Maybe"
As a collaboration between Gary Eaton (founding member of the Continental Drifters) and Robbie Rist, this is country-pop-rock with a little honky tonk and a little blues mixed in along the way. Fans of The Band, Crazy Horse and even Bruce Springsteen will appreciate the way Kingsizemaybe mix just the right amount of garage into their country. With four different vocals in the band (including Shelli Eaton), their sweet harmonies get it right and Robbie Rist’s guitar adds a bit of hard edged fuzz to the entire album. It’s pure unapologetic mid-western rock and soul and the easy shuffle of “The Treasure of Love” and “Big Maybe” charm the listener with Rist’s guitar twang and Easton’s distinct lead vocal. “Rolling Vatican Blues” is a great road tune and will appeal to Tom Petty fans with it’s jam band quality. “Dallas” is a rich jangley ballad that Lynyrd Skynyrd used to excel at, and my favorite song here. The fast paced “Keep Your Eyes on The Road” is a toe tapping, knee slapping good time. I’m a big fan of alt. country music – but this is not really it. However, I can appreciate the albums complex balance of lyric and traditional melody. And as a power pop music critic, it’s tough to render a verdict on this one. But, if your tastes allow for country music, you’ll easily enjoy this one and even if you’re not into this genre, it’s a good place to start.
My Space | CD Baby | Not Lame
The Brixton Riot "(There’s) Something in the Air"
In an effort to have a few hours of fun with iMovie, I created this music video for the Brixton Riot. Using a pile of clips from the movie “The Shining” already on YouTube, I stitched it together. I really could’ve gone nuts adding tons of quick edits, but it works better with just a few scenes. I wish the video wasn’t so jerky, but overall not bad for my first attempt.